Is it harmful to drink off beer?

Question

I have some beer that is one month past it's best before date. I was just wondering if it is still ok to drink from a health standpoint. Will it make me ill, or is it possible that it will just taste a bit bad?

Answer 1

if it's canned or bottled it will be ok... harmful bacteria need air to grow. Also, alcohol kills bacterial. The gas will stay in the beer so it wont be flat. Some of the ingredients may have sank to the bottom and that might affect the taste.

Answer 2

You should be fine. A best before date doesn't mean as much as it could with beer. A lot of that is marketing. While beer can "go bad" it really only will end up tasting bad. 30 days shouldn't be a problem. As an absolute worst case scenario, the beer might not taste as good as it could.

Some beers actually taste better with age. I have a couple in my cellar that I don't plan on opening any time before 2009.

Answer 3

That stamp is just to ensure that you get fresh product, but the way I see it, beer is beer. I forgot I had a 18-pack once in the trunk of my car. I remember that it was the super bowl and I needed to put barbecue stuff in the trunk, then I saw it. It had been freezing out and some cans had popped from the cold, but most of them looked fine, although frozen. Ran them on some warm water for a little bit, and just drank them. Good as ever.

Answer 4

The "best before" date is a marketing ploy to get you to consider a "date" when you're buying beer. Beer is not like milk in that it doesn't "expire." People now think that "beer freshness" is something to consider, and that gives the breweries that print "best by" dates a competitive advantage.

Drink up! Your beer is fine.

Answer 5

go ahead and drink it, there is absolutely nothing wrong with your beer. some breweries claim their beer should be drunk within 180 days for peak freshness, but there is no reason the beer should go bad afterwards, especially after such a short period of time. you will likely not notice any difference in taste.

Answer 6

Beer does not expire. The date you see is when it was made. In order to make beer correctly, you have to let it sit for 2 weeks to taste right...alcohol only gets better with age. Especially beer.

Answer 7

It won't make you ill, but the flavor of the beer won't be as good as before it expired. As long as the bottles are appropriately sealed, you're good to go.

Answer 8

for your own safety,just follow what the expiry date says. hospital bills are expensive than 20 cans or bottles of beer. unless, you have a 'tougher' stomach than the beer. you might regret drinking it.

Answer 9

Beer does not expire (unless opened) But it will taste muggy!

Answer 10

It probably isnt too bad, but old beer sometimes becomes skunky and will smell funny.